The Taiwanese government said yesterday that the recent proposal to buy missiles and other weapons from the United States will increase the island’s ability to defend itself credibly, at a time of growing threats from China.
“Purchasing these weapons will increase Taiwan’s credible and asymmetric combat capabilities,” Defense Ministry spokesman Shih Shun-wen told reporters.
“This will also improve our global combat capabilities to contribute to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he added. These statements follow the purchase of weapons for an estimated $ 2.4 billion.
On the same day that China announced sanctions against American companies involved in selling Taiwan’s next-generation coastal defense batteries to Taiwan, the State Department said it had approved the sale of another 100 batteries from the previous generation.
The new transaction includes 100 coastal defense systems Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems (HCDS), which can include up to 400 RGM-84L-4 missiles, with a maximum range of 125 kilometers. These missiles, manufactured by Boeing’s defense division, can be parked on fixed platforms or mounted on trucks.
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